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I put over 300K miles on a Corolla. Most of it was running up/down the freeway between N. MN to St. Paul and. I didn't baby that car - 75 on cruise was constant. At times I'd get into the left late during rush hour - 90mph. The car didn't like to run much over 75 - cars let you know where they are comfortable.
Tires are the only problem I ever had with that car. Yes, a couple brake pad changes, etc. - maintenance. But the car would develop an audible 'thump'. I could actually hear it and feel it in the seat of my pants. I kept thinking it was tire balance. I'd get them rebalanced and the
thump would change - but stay the same. In retrospect it was that the bad tire was put onto a different corner of the car.
I ran Goodyear, Goodrich, Firestone - all had the same or similar problem. I once bought new tires at Walmart - the tech said I one of my tires had a broken steel belt. One would think that dedicated tire shops would have found that over the first 200K miles.
I put on a better quality tire than factory original rating and had no further problems. I wanted Michelin - but they are generally a harder compound. Between hours on end of high-speed interstate travel and snowy roads in N. MN I wanted a compromise. So I stuck with the three manufacturer's above.
I don't think the problem was the fault of the manufacturers. I kept good tread on the car. But I thought a lighter car like a Corolla could get by with a lesser tire - like original equipment. But I went to a better quality model - I think it was Goodyear - and had no problems the last 100K+ miles. This is just my experience.
I'm now retired and stick pretty much to my home area. I still get better quality tires than came on my current Corolla. And this includes a higher speed rating.
I say get the higher rating.
Note; Walmart for tires? Yes - they're like cow sh*t - they're all over the country. In my 200 mile commute I was never more than 50 miles from a Walmart. My warranty was never questioned. I could stop at any one of them for rotation, etc.
Of the three brands I stuck to, Firestone seemed to be the most problematic. They were a big sales outlet in a city near me. I think they knew the tires had broken belts but didn't want to replace tires for me. I don't think most Walmart employees understood the problem - except the one who told me about it. Imagine blowing a tire at 80mph in the middle of traffic! Yikes!
Tires are the only problem I ever had with that car. Yes, a couple brake pad changes, etc. - maintenance. But the car would develop an audible 'thump'. I could actually hear it and feel it in the seat of my pants. I kept thinking it was tire balance. I'd get them rebalanced and the
thump would change - but stay the same. In retrospect it was that the bad tire was put onto a different corner of the car.
I ran Goodyear, Goodrich, Firestone - all had the same or similar problem. I once bought new tires at Walmart - the tech said I one of my tires had a broken steel belt. One would think that dedicated tire shops would have found that over the first 200K miles.
I put on a better quality tire than factory original rating and had no further problems. I wanted Michelin - but they are generally a harder compound. Between hours on end of high-speed interstate travel and snowy roads in N. MN I wanted a compromise. So I stuck with the three manufacturer's above.
I don't think the problem was the fault of the manufacturers. I kept good tread on the car. But I thought a lighter car like a Corolla could get by with a lesser tire - like original equipment. But I went to a better quality model - I think it was Goodyear - and had no problems the last 100K+ miles. This is just my experience.
I'm now retired and stick pretty much to my home area. I still get better quality tires than came on my current Corolla. And this includes a higher speed rating.
I say get the higher rating.
Note; Walmart for tires? Yes - they're like cow sh*t - they're all over the country. In my 200 mile commute I was never more than 50 miles from a Walmart. My warranty was never questioned. I could stop at any one of them for rotation, etc.
Of the three brands I stuck to, Firestone seemed to be the most problematic. They were a big sales outlet in a city near me. I think they knew the tires had broken belts but didn't want to replace tires for me. I don't think most Walmart employees understood the problem - except the one who told me about it. Imagine blowing a tire at 80mph in the middle of traffic! Yikes!
